I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to conveyors and, more particularly, to a modular accumulating conveyor system.
II. Description of Related Art
There are many previously known accumulating conveyor systems of the type used in industrial manufacturing facilities. Such conveyor systems used in industrial manufacturing facilities are employed to move workpieces sequentially between workstations. Additionally, a manufacturing or assembly operation of some sort is typically performed at each workstation.
The previously known industrial accumulating conveyor systems have typically been custom designed and manufactured in accordance with the customer specifications for a particular conveyor system. The custom design, manufacture and installation of these previously known industrial conveyors, however, resulted in several disadvantages.
A primary disadvantage of these previously known custom accumulating conveyor systems is that such conveyor systems were necessarily expensive to design and construct. This additional cost of the conveyor system is attributable to the engineering and labor costs associated with the customized design of each individual conveyor system.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known custom accumulating conveyor systems is that, since each accumulating conveyor system was unique and different from the other, the repair and maintenance of the conveyor systems was relatively high, even if having some standard common parts.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known custom industrial conveyor systems is that it was difficult, if not altogether impossible, to modify the conveyor system for a different industrial application, requiring by example a different work altitude or simply more operator workstations. As a result, it was often necessary to simply scrap the entire conveyor system and install a brand new conveyor system when a change in the application for the conveyor system occurred.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known industrial conveyor systems is that many such systems utilize an overhanging conveyor to move the part along the conveyor system. As such, it was difficult ergonomically for assemblers along the conveyor system to access all sides of the part being conveyed.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known industrial conveyors is that all of the wiring, piping and fluid lines necessary for the operation of the conveyor were typically mounted to the exterior of the frame. As such, these various components of the overall conveyor system presented an aesthetically unappealing appearance for the overall conveyor system.